Josef Lada’s beloved winter scenes poetically evoke a world of childhood and simple pleasures. Sázava Region in Winter depicts a specific landscape closely associated with the artist’s native surroundings. Rising from the summit of a snow-covered hill is the ruin of the medieval Zlenice Castle, situated roughly an hour’s walk from Hrusice, Lada’s birthplace. Below it, the frozen Sázava River winds its way among village cottages, forming meanders before continuing towards Davle, where it joins the Vltava River.

A small boy skates on the frozen river, while another child nearby pulls a sledge. The willow tree with its twisted trunk growing on the riverbank is a motif that recurs throughout Lada’s paintings and at times serves as a hiding place for the mythical water goblin, a familiar figure from Czech folklore. Dense snowflakes blanket the entire scene, unifying the composition and imbuing it with a sense of silence and timelessness. Above the castle ruin, a pink-blue sky suggests the approach of dusk, as the winter day draws to a close, and the children will soon return for dinner to the warmth of brightly lit cottages. The painting captures an idyllic vision of rural life, where the real landscape becomes intertwined with a poetic recollection of childhood.

During consultations, the work was assessed by Prof. J. Zemina and PhDr. R. Michalová, PhD. An expert opinion of PhDr. P. Pečinková, CSc., is attached (quoted: “[…] In both theme and style, the painting belongs to Lada’s extensive cycle of winter motifs inspired by childhood memories and is directly connected with the two versions of Castle Ruin in Winter (1940 and 1942), as well as with two compositions on the theme Landscape with Carol Singers from 1942, which share related motifs, compositional solutions and vertical format. In these works, Lada demonstrates his mastery as a painter, employing a rich range of white tones to achieve a compelling poetic winter atmosphere. […]”).